When Reeds states “gentlemen’s children,” he provides insight into the social class of Jane’s family; he informs the reader of Jane’s low upbringing and further isolates her from her cousins. She is forced into living a life of solitude and commands. The dominance that John Reed has over Jane also helps to support Brontë’s social commentary on gender inequality. Not only is Jane secluded from the Reed family due to her low upbringing, but also obligated to surrender to John’s…
In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, a young orphan girl named Jane Eyre is unfairly and unequally treated by Mrs. Reed. Jane feels inferior compared to Mrs.Reed’s children and is spoken to as if she is a misfit child. This chapter of the novel has imagery and dialogue that expresses how Jane is being constrained and imprisoned by Mrs.Reed. Jane introduces this chapter with an imagery that describes her emotions. She describes that particular day with “the cold winter wind ...with its clouds so somber and rain so penetrating…”, which expresses her inner feelings of loneliness and helplessness.…
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë uses tone to establish Jane's personality. The tone of the novel is very blunt and direct, much like Jane's character. Such an example is during a conversation with Mrs. Reed. Jane says, "I declare I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world." (48) Jane addresses her dislike towards Mrs.Reed outright, telling her very clearly and almost nonchalantly that she does not care for the Reeds and is happy to move away and attend Lowood.…
Jane’s experience with oppression starts at a young age. While living in Gateshead with Mrs. Reed and Mr. John, she faces criticism and is seen as inferior even to her adoptive sister Georgianna, who is around the same age. While at school in Lowood she was taught to take heavy criticism from teachers and other authority figures she interacted with. “...I am, as Miss Scatcherd said, slatternly, I seldom put, and never keep, things in order; I am careless; I forget rules; I read when I should learn my lessons; I have no method; and sometimes I say, like you, I cannot bear to be subjected to systematic arrangements,” (53). Jane’s teachers, like Miss Scatcherd, and other authoritative figures she should be looking up to, are explicitly pointing…
Within Jane Eyre, the expectations on the behavior of individuals largely depended on their class (among other labels) and for this reason, the protagonist, Jane, experiences an internal conflict throughout the book involving the decision of whether to conform to Victorian ideals or break away and express the passion she is often consumed by. In many ways, the novel acted as a reflection of the events occurring at the time of its publication and was designed to challenge the ideals of Victorian time. During this time period, it was not uncommon for “social classes [to be] distinguished by inequalities in such areas as power, wealth, working and living conditions, life-styles, education, religion, and culture” and…
Jane Eyre was one of the first romance novels, containing both intrigue and passion. The novel follows Jane’s life as she matures from a little girl into womanhood. It portrays her difficult journey to find independence, love, and belonging. Constantly, Jane is faced with difficult decisions being forced to choose between her heart and her mind.…
Edward Rochester, the later romantic interest of Jane and owner of the Thornfield estate, also has dynamic emotional relationships throughout this Bildungsroman novel. Rochester, a powerful, but unusual man uses his authority to assert his position through his relationship with Bertha and Jane Eyre. Bertha his first wife with whom he has an arranged marriage, primarily revolves around preserving economic stability. Due to unfortunate events, Bertha inherits insanity from her mother and during this time, it is considered inhumane to admit people to insane asylums. As a result, Rochester decides to condemn her by keeping her in locked the attic.…
Jane Eyre experienced many things throughout the novel that changed her as a person and that affected her personality as she grew. Some things made her stronger and gave her confidence and some things made her weaker and self-conscious. However, Jane remains strong and stands up for herself. Nothing stopped her from chasing her dreams and goals. Although, there were problems that blocked her these problems made her stronger, the person she is, and built her character.…
While, the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre tried it’s best to stay true to the book in regards to the storyline of Jane Eyre, it fell short in terms of the characterization of Jane Eyre. Many of the scene, such as the fire scene removed portions of Jane’s bravery and independence. The movie feels as if Jane was more worried about finding a man in her life then she was about finding her own liberty and personal happiness. The infidelities in the movie is pointed strongly at the personality and character of Jane Eyre, physically she is everything like the book, but personality wise she is weak, controlled, and subservient. In the movie, Jane Eyre can no longer be characterized as a stepping stone towards independent woman and feminism, but as a backtrack to woman characters who are only worried about finding…
An effective way that a novel becomes timeless is through the social change that the story may prompt. Once a book influences thought or action, its validity and relevance increases. During the Victorian Era in which Jane Eyre takes place, women were forced by society into becoming simplistic and conforming without rebellion. Instead of allowing individuality and expression, men tended to suppress the freedom and personalities of females. To this day still, the lack of female empowerment in a patriarchal society takes prevalence.…
The Relationship of Gender and Vocation in the 19th century novel Women and men in 19th century society occupied separate spheres since it was believed that the sexes have different physical and mental characteristics. Men belonged in the outside world or the public sphere, “where they could use their capacity for logical thought to best effect” (Rowbotham). Women, on the other hand, according to Rowbotham, were expected to belong to “the more passive, private sphere of the household and home where their inborn emotional talents would serve them best”. Physicians and anthropologists justified this division further by saying that if women were to mentally exert themselves like men, “women would divert the supply of blood and phosphates from…
‘Two nations […] who are formed by a different breeding, are fed by a different good, are ordered by different manners, and are not governed by the same laws’ illustrates the rich and the poor in Disraeli’s Sybil. Hugh McLeod states that class hierarchy is important in the Victorian Era, generally recognized status-groups being the ‘working class, middle class and gentry – each with some degree of common identity and limited mobility from one to another’. Although some may claim that Charles Dickens’s writing exaggerated, others say that his works can truly portray the society of the Victorian Era. In Household Words, Dickens presents class through his use of characters, location, and food, and differentiates the rich and the poor in their…
Jane Eyre He or she who thinks they have had it rough cannot begin to imagine what others have gone through. Unfortunate Orphan child Jane Eyre, main character from the novel: “Jane Eyre” written by Charlotte Bronte, after losing her parents and getting stuck with her abusing aunt: Mrs. Reed, has no other choice but to stay at Gateshead with her and put up with her mistreatment. Ascribable to Jane’s parent’s death, becoming an orphan was the least of Jane’s upcoming problems. Overcoming issues such as her social class, oppression and most importantly, finding love; however, not just romantic love , but also for a sense of being valued, and belonging when it seems impossible, was a journey that Jane Eyre was yet to enlist in.…
The Importance of Social Class with Pride and Prejudice In Pride and Prejudice, Austen reveals the values of the characters and the society in which they live at the scene of the Netherfield Ball. This scene connects to the theme of barriers between social classes. Social class plays as a very important role in Jane Austen's work Pride and Prejudice. She demonstrates this through the Bennets.…
The novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte emerged in the mid-nineteenth century when women were defined by strict social and gender expectations. The novel tells the story of Jane, a young orphaned girl, who grows to be a rebellious, independent thinker that follows her heart regardless of what society expects of her. She faces multiple difficulties due to the oppression of her opinions and the Victorian era’s gender ideals, but refuses to conform or be submissive towards the men in her life. The novel is told in first person, which allows readers to see the narrator’s thoughts and feelings. Jane takes control over the novel through her influence on the reader’s perceptions of events with her direct and authoritative tone.…